Man claims officer used Taser on him because he's black (video)

(Photo by Mike Hensdill/The Gaston Gazette) Christopher Martin is suing Matthew Belk because he was accused of shoplifting and shocked with a Taser last year at the store. Here, he talks about the incident at his attorneys' offices on South New Hope Road Thursday morning, July 18, 2013.

By Michael Barrett

Published: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 05:18 PM.

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Christopher Martin said he knew he’d done nothing to warrant being arrested as he walked away from a Gastonia police officer in the local Belk department store one day last summer.

The Kings Mountain 22-year-old recalls being scared to the point that he was shaking as he attempted to leave the business, only to feel the electric jolt of two Taser prongs being fired into his back.

The shock dropped Martin onto his face, causing a cut to the head that required stitches. He was charged with resisting a public officer and damage to personal property/vandalism, reportedly for getting blood on Officer Arthur B. Johns’ boots.

Those charges were later dropped. And Johns — who had already been suspended twice since being hired in 2007 — was suspended a third time and then fired for his actions that day, which included firing the Taser.

Christopher Martin said he knew he’d done nothing to warrant being arrested as he walked away from a Gastonia police officer in the local Belk department store one day last summer.

The Kings Mountain 22-year-old recalls being scared to the point that he was shaking as he attempted to leave the business, only to feel the electric jolt of two Taser prongs being fired into his back.

The shock dropped Martin onto his face, causing a cut to the head that required stitches. He was charged with resisting a public officer and damage to personal property/vandalism, reportedly for getting blood on Officer Arthur B. Johns’ boots.

Those charges were later dropped. And Johns — who had already been suspended twice since being hired in 2007 — was suspended a third time and then fired for his actions that day, which included firing the Taser.

The city wrote in his termination letter that he “failed to follow proper protocol and procedures and actually escalated the situation to a level it should not have reached in the first place.”

Martin, who is black, believes the treatment he was subjected to was racially motivated. He filed a lawsuit this month against Johns and two Belk loss prevention officers — Amanda Crosby and Jamie Carpenter — who were also involved in the events that day. The three defendants are white.

The Matthews Belk Co. and the city of Gastonia are also named in the lawsuit. It alleges all of the defendants are jointly responsible for multiple offenses, including assault and battery, false imprisonment/arrest, defamation and slander, abuse of process and malicious prosecution, conspiracy, and negligent hiring and training.

Belk denies responsibility in the case.

“We believe the claims against Belk are without merit,” Belk spokeswoman Jessica Graham said Thursday. “It is our policy not to comment further on pending litigation.”

Gastonia City Attorney Ash Smith said the city hasn’t had time to formulate a response since the lawsuit was filed July 10. He said the allegation in Martin’s complaint that his civil rights were violated may result in the case being moved to federal court, though that is still uncertain.

“The city’s management team and legal counsel are reviewing the claim and allegations and will respond in due course,” he said. “Given that we just learned (Martin) was pursuing a claim, it’s too early to comment.”

Shoplifting accusation

Martin is a 2008 graduate of Kings Mountain High School. He lives with his mother, Sharon Wingo of Kings Mountain, who said he has never been in trouble.

He had no criminal record prior to the incident that led to the lawsuit.

On June 28, 2012, Martin had the day off from work and went to Westfield Eastridge mall with his 15-year-old cousin, Bobby Cole, and two other friends. All four of them were initially in Belk, looking at clothes as Cole tried on hats.

Security camera footage shows a camera tracking the foursome’s movements and primarily focusing on Cole. The lawsuit alleges it is evidence of racial profiling.

While Cole stayed in Belk, Martin said he and two others walked through the rest of the mall. They returned a short while later to the men’s department to find Cole being detained by Crosby and Carpenter, the loss prevention officers, Martin said.

Carpenter told Martin that Cole had a hat in his pocket that he was trying to steal. Martin told Carpenter the two were cousins. When Carpenter took Cole to the loss prevention office and told Martin to come along, Martin said he followed because he didn’t think he had a choice.

Physical violence

After Officer Arthur Johns arrived, Carpenter told him Martin had been involved in the theft, according to the lawsuit.

Security footage shows Johns escorting Martin into a separate hallway and talking with him, although there is no audio on the recording.

Martin said Johns asked him three separate times for his name, without asking to see photo identification. Martin said he answered each time. Then without warning, Johns told him to turn around and put his hands behind his back, Martin said.

“That’s when he got aggressive with me,” Martin said.

Security footage shows a scuffle ensuing, with Johns and Carpenter both attempting to take Martin down before Martin begins to walk away.

In an arrest warrant and affidavit that day, Johns wrote that Martin “became agitated and created a fist with his right hand in an aggressive manner.”

In much of the security video, Martin’s hands are unclenched at his sides or behind his back.

A few seconds later, Johns is seen firing his Taser, as Martin collapses into the corner of a doorway and strikes his head, causing a pool of blood to appear on the tile floor.

Martin received stitches at the local hospital before being taken to the Gaston County Jail. He was released on an unsecured bond and later told by an assistant district attorney that if he paid to replace the officer’s boots, the charges would be dismissed.

A few days later, Martin lost his job at a local distribution center. He said his employer and co-workers became aware of his arrest, and he believes that’s why he was fired.

“People were staring at me,” he said.

Martin and his mother got a money order for $109 and took it to the Gastonia Police Department. But when Martin appeared for his court date on Sept. 12, he was told he could leave because the state had granted a voluntary dismissal.

Assistant District Attorney Eddie Meeks helped to ensure Martin got his $109 check back from the police department. But Wingo, who has another son training to become a police officer, said she knew her son had been mistreated from the moment she heard the description of the events.

“I knew it was all wrong,” she said.

Record of trouble

Johns was hired by Gastonia Police in February 2007. He was suspended three days from March 1-4, 2008, then suspended 15 more days without pay until March 19.

The city never released the reasons for those suspensions. But in January 2008, 20-year-old Brittany Gilmore, who is black, filed a complaint against Johns for abuse of force.

She said she was watching — but not involved in — a fight outside the Waffle House on Bessemer City Road one night when Johns arrived. She said he slammed her face into the parking lot after she refused to sit down on wet pavement. Gilmore was charged with resisting an officer and underage drinking.

Johns received another 15-day suspension without pay on Nov. 13, 2012. He appealed the city’s decision, but was fired Dec. 7 based on his prior disciplinary record.

Racially motivated?

Martin said he hasn’t been back to Belk or the local mall since the incident more than a year ago. He said he’s afraid of what he might encounter.

While he fights to get the charge expunged from his record, he said he has also struggled to find a new job. His Gastonia attorneys, Bill Moore and Arcangela Mazzariello, believe that’s because many would-be employers see even a dismissed charge when doing a criminal background check and believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Wingo said she’s advised her son that as a black man, he needs to be more aware of the situations he’s in and the people he’s around. She’s told him to always be respectful around police and to avoid doing anything that might provoke a negative response. But she believes even that didn’t keep him out of trouble in this case.

“It’s upsetting to know they can’t just freely go out to places without things like this happening to them,” she said, referring to young black men.

Mazzariello thinks it’s clear what led to Martin being detained and shot with a taser.

“If he were blond-haired and blue-eyed, I don’t think this would have happened,” she said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.